The Coachman

It is with a heavy heart
and a grumbly tummy
that I bid my newest lunch spot discovery
adieu.
The genius (or necessity)
of the Coachman’s lunch menu
was limiting it to
a fried chicken sandwich, a brisket sandwich,
a kale salad or a house salad.
It not only made for good sharing
but also produced a high level of consistency.
Now, I get that the location was a difficult one
for most to get to
but
the food was so good,
the space really bright and open,
and the music enjoyable
that just
the idea of being able to escape here
for lunch
made the workday bearable.
Oh well,
I’m looking forward and hoping the next eatery
fares better.

I don’t have any complaints about the food necessarily (beef tartare appetizer, lamb stew, halibut entrée, sticky toffee pudding dessert), but I wouldn’t say the portion and taste was worth the price. They have a seasonal menu, so make sure to check what is on their menu before going. I was a bit mislead by Unilocal photos.
If you do go, get the sticky toffee pudding. Worth every penny. Absolutely delicious.
Would probably come back for drinks (once I’m 21 LOL) and dessert.
EDIT: just realized this place is now closed… gonna miss the pudding…

Review is for cocktails only. Came here on closing night. Staff was friendly, customers were happy. Had a gin cocktail that was excellent and a rum punch cocktail with rum that, at first, was offputting, but I eventually came to love it.
We finished with a «beyond riciculous» which consisted of a glass of porter, some rum drink, a flaming glass of 151 and a jar with some marshmallows. You drank the porter, roasted the marshmallows, drank the rum drink and it tasted like a smore. Brilliant.
Well done… sorry to see it go.

I hear «British», and I think this is going to be a dive bar. So, I almost walk by the place, thinking it’s too classy. I’d give this place 5 stars, but we only had drinks, so I’ll hold off until I actually eat a meal here.
The décor is homey industrial, which is a little contradictory, I know. On the outside, it fits with the federal building style, being kind of modern and stark, but it feels a little warmer towards the back of the restaurant.
We only had drinks, so it’s not a fair review. A pleasant sized crowd on the early side of a Friday night, which was nice. There is an extensive whisky selection visible on the bar. The whisky menu covers most of the standard stuff they have. But, I like a place that has some unique stuff that they’re willing to sell (and give you a taste if you can show that you’ll appreciate it).
Unlike most SF places, it wasn’t a frenetic bar scene, so we could chat with the bar staff. We got to try some unique stuff, and it made me want to go back and bring some of my own stuff to share.

My Yorkshire pudding was raw. They charged me for a second one, even though I told them about the first. They did not have the wine on the menu that we asked for, and the waiter does not know wine. He should not try and fake his way through. Service is slow. Very slow. I got up to get my own menu at one point. If they are new, maybe some of this is acceptable. But… Overall the food is a three, the service is a two.

Came here for dinner after work one night because it was the only place we could get a reservation on short notice in the area. The restaurant was somewhat quite when we got there, which was a bit surprising. We didn’t want to go overboard, so we decided to split 3 plates, the Bone marrow, the beef tartare, and the prime rib.
The bone marrow came out first, and I really enjoyed it. The marrow is the rich fatty well seasoned goodness that you should expect and demand of marrow. Then they went ahead and added escargot in a butter sauce and fresh pickles. I was in my own mini heaven.
I was brought quickly back to earth when the tartare and the prime rib came out. The tartare was good quality, but I think after the amazingness of the marrow, it kinda fell flat. High expectations can be a killer.
The prime rib also failed to live up to the hype. It was a good portion size, and a good cut, unfortunately, it was short on seasoning. I’m used to getting prime rib that has a nice crispy, well seasoned sear around it. This didn’t have that, and ultimately I felt it was just okay.
Drinks weren’t bad.
Not a bad place to grab some food, but fell short of expectations.

Knowing who the chef was, I was primed to to be a really happy camper at The Coachman. Unfortunately, I find myself cutting the place some slack because it is relatively new and giving two stars instead of one.
The experience started with very well made cocktails at the bar served up by a very grumpy barman. (See what I did there? I used a British term for the bartender at a restaurant serving British food.)
We were seated on time which was important since we were headed to a show with an 8:00 PM curtain. Since we were going to the theater two blocks from the restaurant, we only ordered entrees. At 6:20 in the evening, we figured out we were in trouble when we were told that the entrée ordered by two of us, (one of only five options on the menu — there were no daily specials) was not available.
After a VERY long wait, we received our food, and saw that the meat was not cooked to the temperature we had requested, and it was a cheap cut of meat that really should not be over cooked.
We were able to quickly finish our meals in order to get to our show, but we ended up having to run to the theater because the surly waiter charged us for the food we are plus the entrees that that did not have at the beginning of the night on a slow weekday dinner time.
The Coachman is probably best avoided altogether. I know I won’t go back even if they do get their act together.

If you’re going to a show at the Orpheum there isn’t much around so I guess this would be a good choice. Other than that you can do much better in the City. Even if you are going to the Orpheum, be aware the service defines slow, even if you tell them you are going to a show. Even if you get there 2 ½ hours before the curtain. Seriously, we got there at 5:45 for an 8:00 curtain two blocks away and got pretty worried we weren’t going to make it.
So, there’s slow service, and frankly just plain goofy service. The waiter’s announcements about the menu made no sense. Dishes came out in random order with long gaps in between so two of us would have food and the other two would wait forever. One of us had to wait for ½ hour to get the hard cider he ordered before dinner because it wasn’t cold yet. And the list goes on.
The menu doesn’t make much sense. A handful of heavy entrees, preceded by a bunch of similarly heavy starters, except for one soup and one salad.
The food itself was okay. Nothing outstanding and nothing terrible. I think my daughter was the most pleased of all of us with her chicken breast topped with rhubarb jam. Pretty tasty. Braised lamb, culotte steak and halibut were all competent, but ho-​hum.
You can do better.

Long overdue Unilocal update.
Deserves a full five stars (upgraded from the 4 stars). The Stilton and Cheese pie here is one of the best things I’ve ever had. It has the juiciness of a steak, the flakiness of a buttery pot pie crust, and the sharpness of a Stilton cheese. The flavors combine MARVELOUSLY with each other.
Also. Go to the bar and get the Secret Menu. Then get the «something ridiculous» Yes, it’s $ 14. But it’s worth it. You get 3 things. One of them is a bowl of marshmallows that you get to roast. Why? Because it pairs really well with the other two drinks. And it’s fun to roast your own marshmallows :).

A British restaurant by Charles Phan? What? THIS I have to try.
Hue L., our NYF, and I had our monthly dinner here this past Friday night. Reservations at 8:00pm. We arrived a little early and had to wait a little to be seated — not because there weren’t any seats, but because we had to wait for the hostess to come back to the front to seat us.
I started with the Cider Cup a La Ensor — Osocalis Brandy, Cider, Pur Pear, Cucumber, Pineapple and Lemon. Tasty, but a little sour.
FOOD
— Chips and gravy, braised lamb, black pudding, cheddar, bacon, ranch. Basically poutine. I love poutine and this was actually one of the better ones I’ve tried outside of Canada.
— Escargot, bone marrow, pickled vegetables. Very good. I’m not the biggest escargot fan, but for those that are, they put a lot of them on this dish.
— Beef tartare, house of parliament, marrow, smelt. Really good. One of my favorite beef tartare that I’ve tried. I really liked the fried smelt. There were three of them, so we each had one. It was crispy and can be seriously addicting.
— Skate wing, brown butter, caper berries. Really tasty. The bones were a bit of a quandry, but NBD.
— Lamb meatballs, onions, eggplant. This was probably my least favorite of the night, but it might have been because I was extremely full by the time we got to this dish. Big meatballs and really meaty.
DESSERT
— Sticky Toffee Pudding. I’ve never had sticky toffee pudding, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought this was just ok.
— Lemon posset. We had to ask our waitress what a lemon posset was. Meringue. Lemon. Light. Airy. Sweet. TASTY!
PRICE
— $ 179. pre-​tip for three people with 5 drinks.

I was pleasantly surprised after eating at The Coachmen. When my friends suggested it and I looked it up on Unilocal and saw that it was listed as «British food,» I was dubious.
We had mussels and clams, the chips and gravy, and the chicken breast. All were really, really great. I love mushrooms, and they hen of the woods mushrooms came with the chicken – they were cooked very well. Not mushy, which is usually the standard for mushrooms.
The cocktails were also really inventive. The Gin Cocktail (which is more like an old fashion) was stellar.
Definitely recommend this place.
The good: awesome food, easy to get a table on a Tuesday night.
The bad: interesting walk through the TL to get there, as always. Just be on guard.

I’m actually between 3 and 4 stars.
Kudos for opening up in the old Heaven’s Dog space. (Although I really liked Heaven’s Dog. What happened??). But Coachman is a pretty decent replacement. I say *pretty decent* with some hesitation.
My likes (or singular like, he he):
I do like the fact that you can just walk in, sit at the bar, order a glass of wine (or whateva) and choose to nibble or opt for full-​on dinner.
My gripes:
1. The food is WAYYYYY too salty. Puhleeze dial it back a bit so I don’t gain 10 lbs sitting there!
2. The ambiance is a little blah. It’s like they need to warm it up a bit or add some personality. Something to make it stand out.
3. THE MOST ANNOYING gripe of them all: They stop serving really early, like 10pm or something. I was recently kind of pissed because I walked in with my girlfriend at like 9:50 p.m., and unbeknownst to us, the kitchen was closed. But on top of that, they wouldn’t even serve us a drink!
UNTIL…We were hit on by two guys who had already popped some bubbles and were chummy with the staff. Then, 10:10pm, dude behind the bar opened a whole new bottle and poured for both me AND my friend. Hypocrites!
Coachman, you’ll soon get hip to the fact that you’re not the only game in town!

The Coachman proves that Charles Phan might want to stick with upscale Vietnamese food.
Located in the same venue as his now defunct Heaven’s Dog, The Coachman provides a take on modern British cuisine presented in a contemporary setting. Decorated in muted colors, the space features an open kitchen, sizable bar, and soaring ceilings.
With only nine appetizers and six mains, the menu is compact, leaving more discerning patrons with a paucity of choice.
While beautifully presented, the cured halibut, marinated beets, dill pollen ($ 16) lacked flavor. The beef tartare ($ 18) with House of Parliament (brown) sauce and marrow was curiously paired with smelt, which severely detracted from the dish. The skate wing ($ 20) was light and tender, but the brown butter and caper berries slightly overpowered the delicate flavor. Served with a plethora of accompaniments – lettuce, celeriac, king trumpet mushrooms, and hen of the wood mushrooms – the chicken breast ($ 24) was overly salty; Zuni Café’s brick oven roasted chicken is still king in The City. With a dense but moist cake, the sticky toffee pudding ($ 8) was doused in an almost cloying sweet syrup, making a less-​than-​perfect dénouement to the meal.
The service was professional and attentive. Dishes arrived with a good pace, and water glasses never went unfilled. There is a full bar with a dizzying array of interesting cocktails, a good selection of beers and ciders, and an imaginative wine list that thankfully strays from the «usual suspects.» It is sad that the bar and service far outshine the food.
All in all, Phan needs to rethink the menu offerings at The Coachman sooner than later, or his new effort will go the way of Heaven’s Dog, only more quickly.

I would come back to The Coachman for drinks but not for food. The space is cool, and the service is good. The food was disappointing.
* Cured halibut, marinated beets, dill pollen — $ 16
Beautifully plated but lacking in flavor. The cured halibut was too chewy for me.
* Potted crab — $ 16
A buttery crab dip with toasts. Probably the best thing we ordered but also a safe choice type of dish.
* Prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, jus — $ 30
A thick fatty slab of meat. Probably about 40% fat. The jus was nice and smokey. The Yorkshire pudding was a bit inconsistent, with extremely moist parts and extremely dry parts. House of Prime Rib is still the place to go if you want prime rib.
* Steak and stilton pie — $ 22
Two of my friends ordered this. Both found it unpalatably salty and left it largely untouched. Our server noticed and comped both pies, after getting some feedback on the dish, which I thought was an incredibly nice gesture.
* Sticky toffee pudding — $ 8
Recommended by the server. Not really my type of dessert.

Two visits, two mediocre meals.
Great boozy drinks, better service each time I go, but nothing we’ve ordered has us clamoring for a repeat visit. My groups consensus was we were satisfied to have eaten and had good drinks, but we weren’t eager to return. Not that my recommendations mean a thing, but if they stuck to some tried and true hits (example: fish and chips) and executed them flawlessly, they would grow a steady following. Their take on British food is a great concept but it just isn’t being executed in a way that is drawing in the crowds. Also, this place needs to bring back the discount for those that live in the building. I think it is a mistake to not continue that practice as the residents are such a low hanging revenue fruit. Hopefully this place begins to create some menu winners and brings back the crowds that flocked here the first two weeks they opened.

It’s certainly a pip-​pip-​and-​all-​that coincidence that I was on my way to London just a couple of days after trying Charles Phan’s latest foodie foray in the SoMa Grand. I’m not sure Heaven’s Dog ever received a proper burial presumably in a pet cemetery, but the omnipresent Phan decided to switch gears from East to West with its replacement and turned the restaurant into a curious bit of Britannia. I’m not sure I’ve ever craved upscale English pub fare, but having enjoyed its previously canine identity and the Southern-​comfort twins South at SFJazz and Hard Water, I decided to give it a go late one evening after a grueling day at the office.
The décor has gone through a relatively subtle transformation. However, the counter area in the front space looks the same, and that’s where I sat myself down (photo:
). Upon first glance, the menu didn’t wow me as it offered ye olde favorites like pickled sardines, fried smelt, salt cod and tripe (photo:
). Just not a whole lot of flavor kick offered from my standpoint. While I was tempted by the $ 30 Prime Rib, early Unilocal reviews were lukewarm on its execution, so I started modestly with their $ 9 Waldorf Salad, a California-​ized take and somewhat ironic since it’s a Yankee concoction from the kitchen of the legendary New York hotel.
Sliced pears replaced the expected apples, while fennel and radishes replaced the celery. Pickled red onions and a drizzle of vinaigrette took over for the mayonnaise. On the other hand, the walnuts and mixed lettuces were present and accounted for (photo:
). Good but not all that outstanding. For my entrée, I went for the $ 19 Blood Sausage with a ground texture that made me think it was an authentic rendition and a mix of spices that made it more appealing than my initial expectation was. It came accompanied by a pickled red cabbage that amounted to a fancier sauerkraut and a sliced pink lady apple nicely grilled (photo:
).
I liked it enough that it was regretful the portion struck me as rather on the paltry side. The other aspect that was a bit problematic was the pace of service. After being greeted with initial enthusiasm, the subsequent appearances were few and far between on a weeknight I was anxious to get home. As it turned out, I didn’t eat this «British» once I was in London except for the occasional English breakfast. Britannia may rule the waves but not quite in the kitchen here. The bar scene looks more promising (photo:
), but that prospect may wait for another visit. It will be interesting to see if Phan’s venture will attract Cavalier-​level attention. I’m just not feeling it yet.
FOOD — 3 stars… execution and taste has a bit of flair though portions are smallish
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… not feeling the British vibe that much, more Heaven’s Dog redux
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… a ding here from the experience of this solitary diner
TOTAL — 3 stars… Phan’s culinary empire expands but more familiar conquests would have been more welcome

***************************** 1,073 *******************************
Another chef Charles Phan spot, this time, it’s not Vietnamese; it’s not Southern food; it’s not Chinese; it’s British of all the food! What’s a surprise, I didn’t know until I came here. A few online foodies invited me out @HotFoodporn @DapperDiner and a few more, so we shared several dishes and drinks.
The place is big, used to be Heaven Dog, the bar is seated about 12 people, the dining room split in the front and the back. High ceiling, spacious, seventy-​six California honey panels;single thirty foot curve Cypress bar; open kitchen; chef table can sit up to 10 people; cork walls, and designer Olle Lundberg also scavenged a key design element from another defunct Phan restaurant: 76 glowing glass rectangles filled with different varieties of honey.
The Coachman has that Speakeasy vibe, awesome cocktail menu by no other than bar director: ERIK ADKINS, opened Hardwater, and Slanted Door (both are Charles Phan’s restaurants).
Tried these: Antique sour, Pineapple Julep, Sherry Cobler (Coachman sherry blend), and Robert Burn’s Hunting Flask, you would enjoy it! If you catch the barman there name John, he’s a really cool guy and can recommend you just about anything!
The Coachman offers classic British fare in contemporary setting; organic sustainable local ingredients. The menu is small, about 18 dishes or so plus 4 desserts.
— Potted Crab is a must order.
— Blood sausage, braised cabbage, pink lady apple, yum!
— Bone marrow, escagots, pickled vegetables was so good!
— Skate wing, brown buttter, caper berries, an interesting dish.
— Chips and gravy, black pudding, cheddar, bacon, ranch.
— T Prime rib, yorkshire pudding, jus — this was surprisingly good, juicy, tender, smaller portion size.
We sat at the bar and the service was friendly, spot on, the food came out flowing nicely. I can’t wait to come back. I love to see this part of town is popping up beside, AQ & TBD, now Coachman.
Easy parking in this area, however, be careful, I see broken glasses on this street before!

Tried out Charles Phan’s new British restaurant. It’s new and I wanted to see what it was like.
No reservations for us so we had to sit at the Chef’s counter, I think they are crappy seats, can’t really see the cooks cooking with all the plates in front of us and it gets warm there.
We tried:
Waldorf Salad $ 9– some greens, some dressing, some pear slices. Kinda meh.
Bone marrow w/​snails and some toast on the side $ 12. Tasted fine, only 2 bone marrow. Not enough.
Potted crab w/​more toast $ 16 — not a lot of crab meat, but it was nice to try it. Two of us shared it.
Tripe w/​some potatoes & sauce $ 18. B. liked it, I found it too funky & bleh.
Creamed spinach $ 5 — lots of cream or butter and the sauteed spinach. We liked it fine.
Charged it. Our bill with 1 cocktail & 5 small dishes $ 78.30 before tip.

3.5 rounding down.
Pretty quiet, sterile ambiance. It got livelier as the night progressed, but initially it was awkwardly quiet. Service was off, another server had to take our order since she noticed we were sitting so long. Then my second cocktail came after I had finished my entrée.
Food was pretty good. Bone marrow was a bit undercooked. The potted crab was delicious, as was the bread served with everything. Prime rib was good, the crust had all the seasoning though.
I’m sure service will get better, maybe I’ll come back for cocktails and some prime rib at the bar.

Mr. NSS hates that I get on his case about his driving.
The constant honking, dirty stares from other drivers, and seeing all the Corollas and Camrys zoom by us makes me antsy especially when one of those Corollas was driven by my Darth Vader visor wearing mother. *beep beep*
Dude, how can you let someone who once got a ticket for driving too slow pass us up?!
Luckily, he works in insurance and is not a modern day coachman. I can only imagine that snail mail would get there faster. He may be a slow driver and bad with directions but he does know the way to my heart and is my rock. Love him to pieces.
With a handful of brand new restaurants on my bookmarks, we decided to check out The Coachman over the weekend (opened last Friday) because of the carniwhore-​friendly menu, convenience, and easy street parking.
I’m not a huge fan of Charles Phan’s restaurants so I was a bit reluctant especially when the concept seemed to be similar to The Cavalier just two blocks away. However, I quickly changed my mind when I read that the Chef de Cuisine previously worked at Bar Tartine, SPQR, and A16; all of which I love.
A British inspired restaurant, The Coachman has a very focused menu with just 10 apps, 5 entrees (a la carte), 2 sides, and 2 desserts. Expect to spend about $ 60 pp for one app, entrée, and shared dessert including one drink. The prices were aligned with the portion sizes and quality. Even though I found the menu less creative than The Cavalier (my review:
), I actually liked The Coachman better.
~ * ~ F O O D ~ * ~
*Potted Crab ($ 14) — 4 STARS
Tender chunks of crab in a pool of decadent clarified fat (?) and slathered on freshly grilled, crusty bread… way to do crab justice.
*Beef Tartare ($ 14) — 4.5 STARS
My new favorite tartare since Bix has gone completely downhill, this beef tartare was all kinds of savory goodness. The House of Parliament [brown] sauce was a flavor bomb and gave a really deep, complex tanginess. I really liked the addition of the fried smelt which was addictingly good.
*Prime Rib ($ 30) — 2.5 STARS
With House of Prime Rib and Hillstone serving stellar prime rib, The Coachman’s rendition was disappointingly mediocre. He requested medium rare but it was more medium and the crust lacked any flavor. There was also a huge chunk of fat. The marrow au jus didn’t elevate it much and the Yorkshire pudding was not good; heavy, dense, and too eggy. No horseradish was provided which was odd.
*Skate Wing ($ 20) — 4.5 STARS
Most of you know I dislike cooked fish but I thought I take the plunge with this French preparation. Wow, this was one of the best fish dishes I’ve had. Perfectly cooked, the exterior was crispy and the soft flesh flaked off effortlessly. Loved the decadent brown butter sauce with capers and the finishing squeeze of lemon that brightened up the skate wing.
*Sticky Toffee Pudding ($ 8) — 3.5 STARS
I’m a sticky toffee pudding novice so I can’t speak too much about it other than I thought it was just ok. The steamed cake was dense but somewhat moist. The syrup was very sweet. If I had lactaid on me, I would of ordered the earl grey ice cream instead.
~ * ~ S E R V I C E ~ * ~
We eat like old farts (5:30 pm reservations) so we didn’t experience slow food service like others. But I don’t doubt that it happened since service lagged as prime time approached. Service was otherwise professional and attentive.
~ * ~ A M B I A N C E /​D E C O R ~ * ~
Nice open space with lots of metal fixtures and furnishings, open kitchen, and dining area with a glowing honey paneling that I remembered from one of Phan’s other restaurants, Out The Door. There was nothing British about the décor or ambiance though.
One of my gripes was the counter seats in the open kitchen. We always opt to sit at the counter when dining out because I like watching the chefs cook and someone likes to cop a feel during dinner. All the plates were stacked on the counter area which obstructed our view and made the counter area look cluttered.
~ * ~ P A R K I N G ~ * ~
Plenty of metered street parking before 6 pm but avoid the sketchy 6^th street side. There’s a parking lot across the street for a $ 10 nightly flat rate.